Mental Health Matters- World Mental Health Day
Did you know: 1 in 5 Australians are affected by mental illness, yet many don’t seek help.
We can all do something to help shed a more positive light on mental health. October 10th is World Mental Health Day and October is Mental Health Month, this year it’s all about sharing the journey.
Connecting with others is important for our health and survival. Research tells us that feeling connected, valued and loved by others gives us a sense of security, support, purpose and happiness.
The Mental Health Month theme this year focuses on the importance of social connections in:
Our journey to better mental health
Our ability to cope with life’s challenges. Good social connections not only improve our overall mental health and wellbeing, they also build our resilience.
Did you know: 3 million Australians are living with anxiety or depression?
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is more than just feeling stressed or worried. While stress and anxious feelings are a common response to a situation where we feel under pressure, they usually pass once the stressful situation has passed, or ‘stressor’ is removed.
Anxiety is when these anxious feelings won’t go away – when they're ongoing and happen without any particular reason or cause. It’s a serious condition that makes it hard to cope with daily life. Everyone feels anxious from time to time, but for someone experiencing anxiety, these feelings aren't easily controlled.
What are the symptoms of anxiety?
The symptoms of anxiety conditions are sometimes not all that obvious as they often develop slowly over time and, given we all experience some anxiety at various points in our lives, it can be hard to know how much is too much. Normal anxiety tends to be limited in time and connected with some stressful situation or event, such as a job interview.
While each anxiety condition has its own unique features, there are some common symptoms including:
Physical: panic attacks, hot and cold flushes, racing heart, tightening of the chest, quick breathing, restlessness, or feeling tense, wound up and edgy
Psychological: excessive fear, worry, catastrophizing, or obsessive thinking
Behavioural: avoidance of situations that make you feel anxious which can impact on study, work or social life.
These are just some of a number of symptoms that you might experience. If you've experienced any of these on a regular basis and or are concerned or have any queries, pleases see your doctor, they are here to help and will always keep your conversations private and confidential.
Could you or a love one be suffering from anxiety or depression?
Take the quiz to see if you may be suffering from anxiety
This simple checklist aims to measure whether you may have been affected by depression and anxiety during the past four weeks. The higher your score, the more likely you are to be experiencing depression and/or anxiety.
We all have good days and bad days. Then there are those days when something isn't quite right, you've got something on your mind, or things just seem too much. Whatever it may be, sharing the load with someone else can really help.
So, no matter who you are, or how you're feeling, our team are here to help you and your family.
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